Portraying the nation’s 16th president — which actor Daniel Day-Lewis does in Steven Spielberg’s new film, “Lincoln” (which opens in select theaters Friday) — involves more than just a few props and a sonorous voice.

To find out what it takes to play one of the most beloved historical figures in America, we sought advice from Lincoln actor and Gettysburg resident Jim Getty, as well as local historians.

While it’s too late for us to help Mr. Day-Lewis, perhaps we might be able to help you from committing a historical faux-pas next Halloween (or Presidents Day).

ADVICE

Do your research. One of the best ways to learn about Lincoln’s mannerisms and personality is to dig into the myriad number of books and articles about him. “You have to be knowledgeable about the character,” Getty said. “People are going to ask you questions. You have to know about the personalities he worked with. I’m still reading and learning.”

Don’t overdo it. “Lincoln was a very reserved, private man,” said Allen Guelzo, professor of Civil War-era studies at Gettysburg College. “He did not often unload in public even when angry, and there were moments when he could be quite angry. He was a very self-controlled person. Don’t portray him as passionate and excited with his arms waving like windmills.”

Don’t have a spring in your step. “He walked very flat-footed,” Getty said.

Don’t lower your voice. Many historians suspect Lincoln had a high-pitched voice with a bit of a frontier twang, obtained from his years growing up in Kentucky. “He drops the ‘g’ [in words] so it’s good mornin’,” Getty said.

Get the hair right. Getty goes to the hairdresser every two months to have a Lincoln-styled perm (“a little lift and cut off on the sides”). He makes the mole that graced Lincoln’s face out of nose putty and glues it on with spirit gum.

Study photos from the time. Not just of Lincoln, but also of his contemporaries to get an idea of how men dressed back then.

Don’t get political. Be respectful toward the character you’re portraying. “Don’t be tempted to inject something that would favor a political party,” Getty said. “You don’t want to enter a political discussion.”

LINCOLN FACTS

Did you know ...

He had an arthritic back. “If you were standing in the room talking to him, he’d shift his weight from one foot to the other to relieve pressure,” Getty said.

He loved apples. Just as President Ronald Reagan had his jelly beans, Lincoln had his apples. “You’d have an appointment with him and find him peeling an apple,” Getty said.

He didn’t write the Gettysburg Address on the back of an envelope. That appeared in a fictional story written in 1903 and took on a life of its own. “Put a stake through the heart of that,” Guelzo said. He loved minstrel shows. “He would go out of his way to attend a minstrel show and when he went, he would sing along and clap,” Guelzo said. “He thought of it as being a rollicking good fun time. That’s something I don’t expect to see in the Spielberg movie.”

He was tough. “People imagine that Lincoln was just so empathetic and nice and good and he was, but he was very tough,” said Matthew Pinsker, associate professor of history at Dickinson College. “He could be cold and hard. It’s one thing to say he was a man of integrity. It’s another to say he was nice to be around.”

He wasn’t arrogant. “He didn’t mind surrounding himself with people smarter than he was,” said Jim Broussard, professor of history at Lebanon Valley College. “I can’t think of another president who put into his Cabinet almost a half-dozen rivals for his nomination.”

He was incredibly successful. “People overestimate how much of a failure he was,” Pinsker said. “He was a very prominent business attorney. He was a classic self-made man.”

He was healthy. Contrary to myth, Lincoln didn’t have a fatal disease that would have killed him if Booth hadn’t. “Lincoln was one of the healthier presidents we have had,” Guelzo said. “He could take the White House steps two at a time.”

LINCOLN ON FILM

While there haven’t been a slew of movies about the 16th president in recent years, he has graced the silver screen and television in the past.

“The Reprieve: An Episode in the Life of Abraham Lincoln,” 1908 — Historians believe this motion picture, in which the president pardons a sleeping sentry, was the first film about Lincoln. Sadly, it’s believed to be lost to the ages.

“Abraham Lincoln,” 1930 — After depicting his assassination in “Birth of a Nation,” director D.W. Griffith helmed this biopic, with Walter Huston in the lead role. To say it’s not regarded as one of Griffith’s finer moments would be an understatement.

“Young Mister Lincoln,” 1939 — Directed by John Ford and starring Henry Fonda, this partly fictionalized film chronicles Lincoln’s early years as a lawyer. It’s regarded as a classic and is in the National Film Registry.

“Abe Lincoln in Illinois,” 1940 — Based on the play by Robert Sherwood, the film starred Raymond Massey and was a big financial disaster. The film’s reputation has improved considerably over time.

Between
March 23 and April 9, 1865 — two weeks prior to his assassination —
Abraham Lincoln traveled to Virginia to take stock of the end of the war
and develop a plan to heal and reconstruct the nation.

Author
and Civil War historian Noah Andre Trudeau is putting together a book
chronicling that brief time in the president’s life.

“What he
experienced down there helped shape his agenda,” Trudeau said. “He goes
from being a war president to a reconstruction president.”

To
help get a fuller sense of what Lincoln said and did during those few
weeks, Trudeau is reaching out to historians and Civil War buffs in
Pennsylvania and elsewhere in the hopes of finding some first-accounts
of Lincoln’s visits.

Regiments from the midstate, including Camp
Curtin, were in Virginia during that time, and some divisions were even
reviewed by Lincoln, Trudeau said.

“I’m hoping that in some family’s collection there might be letters or diaries that mention Lincoln,” he said.

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